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Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White


Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

Serving The University of Alabama since 1894.

The Crimson White

All content by Asher Elbein

Blunt advice from a salmon

Asher Elbein April 23, 2014

Over the past few weeks, the opinion pages of The Crimson White have been filled with a curious seasonal phenomenon. Like the migration of the salmon, a procession of senior columns has arrived to leap...

Machine wins election, not future

Asher Elbein March 13, 2014

On March 11, 2014, Machine candidate Hamilton Bloom was elected president of the SGA. Nor was he the only mechanized candidate to do so. Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of the Machine’s creation,...

‘Discovering Alabama’ owes success to Judy Bonner’s generosity

Asher Elbein February 6, 2014

Friends, faculty and fellow students of The University of Alabama, I come not to bury Judy Bonner, but to praise her. This is, I will admit, uncommon for me. Those who read this column will know that...

America’s real national pastime: religious hysteria

Asher Elbein January 16, 2014

It will shock nobody to learn that America thrives on spectator sports. What may shock people is that our favorite spectator sport is not football, or basketball or even – perish the thought – soccer....

What the disappearing box turtle means for our future, our children

Asher Elbein December 5, 2013

I don’t see box turtles anymore. I used to find them all the time when I was a kid. On rainy summer afternoons they’d come wandering out onto the road from the forest, their shells patterned with...

Students should be offended by sexist chalkings

Asher Elbein November 7, 2013

The University campus woke yesterday morning, as it does most mornings, to a parade of chalking. The majority of these are announcements or advertisements. Occasionally an artist will grace us with a doodle....

Machine’s silence worth a thousand words

Asher Elbein October 17, 2013

On Monday, the very day when Kelly Horwitz filed a brief alleging fraud in the Tuscaloosa municipal elections, we woke to find our residence halls covered in fliers. Each purported to be an announcement...

Shutdown begins due to refusals to compromise

Asher Elbein October 2, 2013

For those who don’t know, the government shut down Tuesday. You may not have noticed since it does seem to happen a lot these days – but this time it’s for real. According to The New York Times,...

Reflecting on what type of student the Capstone produces

Asher Elbein September 3, 2013

If municipal elections gave prizes for shady behavior, then Aug. 27’s would sweep it like an SGA campaign. And like an SGA campaign, the allegations are already piling up. Greek students allegedly signing...

Re-evaluating the cancer of growth at UA

Asher Elbein August 22, 2013

There are too many people at The University of Alabama. Not the most controversial opinion, I’ll admit. I suspect that the majority of the teeming hordes outside my window share it, which proves that...

‘The Americans’ focuses on espionage, marriage

Asher Elbein February 14, 2013

Picture a pair of spies who love their country. A man and a woman, patriotic enough to travel to a dangerous land, a place where the police operate with impunity and a madman has come to power. There they...

Crass humor, complex characters make Archer one of the best comedies on television

Asher Elbein January 31, 2013

If you haven’t heard of “Archer” by now, you’ve been living under a rock. With the hit FX show now starting its fourth season, it’s as good a time as any to give the best spy comedy on television...

‘Justified’ offers clever, gripping western drama

Asher Elbein January 17, 2013

“Justified” doesn’t immediately seem like the best western on television. Indeed, with its modern setting and modest budget, it doesn’t look much like a western at all. But don’t let the trappings...

Disney channel show ‘occupies strange place in realm of current cartoons’

Asher Elbein December 6, 2012

To call “Gravity Falls” the best animated comedy currently running may sound extreme. It airs, after all, on Disney Channel, not a place known for the richness of its humor. But for those willing to...

‘American Horror Story’ often trite

Asher Elbein November 15, 2012

Sloppy. Deeply self indulgent. Fascinatingly trashy. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s “American Horror Story.” The latest show from “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy has a simple set up. Each season, horrible...

British humor and intrigue of ‘Doctor Who’ finds attentive audience in U.S.

Asher Elbein November 1, 2012

Running in one form or another on the BBC for nearly 50 years, “Doctor Who” has recently exploded in popularity, growing from an obscure British sci-fi to one with a significant American audience....

After difficult time for superhero shows, CW’s ‘Arrow’ a decent take on genre

Asher Elbein October 18, 2012

Superheroes have had a tough time on television recently. “Heroes” dissolved into an incoherent mess, “Smallville” battled diminishing returns, and the less said about “The Cape,” the better....

“Sherlock” presents brilliant, entertaining take on Doyle’s classic consulting detective

Asher Elbein October 3, 2012

In an age where the term “remake” is a dirty word, it’s easy to be suspicious of BBC’s “Sherlock.” Set in modern London, the show follows the exploits of the abrasive consulting detective Sherlock...

Superman show fails without key concepts from original comics

Asher Elbein September 13, 2012

Named after the small Midwestern town where Superman grew up, the series Smallville follows Clark Kent on his journey toward becoming the greatest superhero in the world. Seeking to create a grounded and...

“Mystery Incorporated” revamps an old time favorite

Asher Elbein August 29, 2012

COLUMN | Television By Asher Elbein The excellence of “Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated” may come as a surprise. The latest in a long line of Scooby Doo shows, the plot and characters remain, at...

New ‘Last Airbender’ reminiscent of original show

Asher Elbein April 12, 2012

There’s only one word that properly sums up the new Nickelodeon series “The Legend of Korra,” and that word is “awesome.” A sequel to the critically acclaimed and wildly popular “Avatar: The...

'Spartacus' starts out predictable and too graphic but grows into great TV

‘Spartacus’ starts out predictable and too graphic but grows into great TV

Asher Elbein March 29, 2012

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” is a seriously trashy show. The fights are bloody, the sex scenes plentiful and the level of (equal opportunity) background nudity staggeringly high. To casual inspection,...

Navistar coming to UA to provide student work, internship opportunities

Asher Elbein February 27, 2012

Those interested in job opportunities in the fields of vehicular manufacture, marketing, business and sales are in luck. Navistar International, a $10 billion company that produces commercial and military...